katmai_bearcamsfandomcom-20200214-history
814 Lurch
Adult Male Year First Identified: 1st classified as young adult in 2005 Last Year Observed: 814 Lurch was last observed in July 2016 Offspring Of: Not known Darting Attempts: Ranger Michael Saxton was not able to attempt to dart 814 Lurch in 2016 prior to 814 Lurch's remains being discovered. 'Identification:' 814 Lurch was one of the most distinctive bears at Brooks River. He was very large and was missing his right ear. His muzzle was long, and he had a disctinctive scar above his right eye. In June and July, his back had a pronounced saddle and was sometimes noticeably shed out. Late in the summer, his new coat was a uniform dark brown. 'Distinctive Behaviors:' Like 856, 814 Lurch was often observed repeatedly licking his lips while he fished and walked around Brooks Falls. In 2005, when initially classified as a young adult, 814 typically fished the riffles, cut bank area, and scavenged salmon carcasses at Brooks Falls. Since 2008, however, this bear became increasingly dominant. 814 would steal fish and regularly displace other bears from his preferred fishing spots. 814 became one of the most dominant bears on the river and only consistently yielded space to 856 and 747 from 2012 to 2015, 814 was observed killing 435 Holly's spring cub in June 2009. In October 2012, 814 was seen guarding a food cache near the mouth of the Brooks River. Later observations determined that he was guarding and feedling on a dead bear. It is unknown whether or not 814 Lurch killed the bear he was feding on. He likely appropriated the cache from 469 "Patches"/"Digger" who was seen digging in the same spot. He also appropriated a food cache containing another dead bear in October 2013. For bears like 814, calories are calories. It made no difference whether or not the calories came from salmon or another bear. 814's actions demonstrated the successful survival skills of a dominant bear. 814 Lurch apparently had his right ear torn off in the spring of 2015. How and when did that happen? No one knows, but the wound around his ear and right side of his face appeared very fresh when he was first observed in mid June 2015. He likely was injured in a fight with another bear, but this is not known with certainty. In August 2016, the remains of a bear were found on an angler trail behind the Brooks Falls wildlife viewing platform. The dental remains compared to photos of 814 Lurch's teeth showed striking resemblance. 814 was not seen after late July. It is not certain whether the skeletal remains belong to 814, but the evidence indicates his death. 'Life History:' 814 Lurch was described as a young adult male when he was first identified in 2005. '2005:' Add here '2006:' Add here '2007:' Add here '2008:' 'September 2008:' 2008.09.21: Ranger Jeanne's flickr album with photos of 814 Lurch and 489 Ted playing. '2009:' Sometime in 2009 or prior, park visitor MrDavidkenning captured this video of 814 Lurch rubbing on a tree on the island downriver of Brooks Falls, Thank you cam viewer, kcanada for sharing the link to this video for 814's wiki page: 'June 2009:' 2009.06.30: WARNING: Some viewers may find this video content difficult to watch. 814 Lurch kills 435 Holly's spring cub. KNP&P video : 'July 2009:' 2009.07.xx: '814 Lurch steals a fish from another large bear in this video by RJSVids: '2010: Add here '2011:' Add here '2012:' 'October 2012:' 2012.10.07 - 2012.10.09: '''Explore Bear Blog: The Violent Side of Nature by Ranger Roy Wood : "On Sunday morning, October 7, biologists stationed at Brooks Camp noted that adult male Bear 469* (no nickname, but this is the one bearcam viewers called “Digger”) had apparently killed something and was in the process of caching it. A bear will often cache food when there is more than can be eaten at once. Salmon, for example, are typically not cached, but a moose would be. Throughout the day, Bear 469 added to, and rearranged his cache, and slept. Biologists later that day, (after the cams shut down), determined that the cache contained the remains of an unidentified bear. Sometime after dark and before the biologists returned to the Lower River on Monday, October 8, another bear, Bear 814 (Lurch) arrived on the scene and took over Bear 469’s cache, chasing him off. Bear 469 was not killed, and was seen one additional time after the cache-building event. Throughout the day on Monday, Bear 814 was observed to be adding to and rearranging his cache. On Tuesday morning, October 9, biologists once again observed the remains of a bear in the cache. Bear 814 was seen to periodically dig into the cache and pull out a part of the dead bear and eat it. When not eating, he slept and rearranged his cache. Most other bears continued to steer clear of Bear 814 and his well-guarded cache. Whether you are man or beast, stumbling upon a brown bear’s cache is one of the most dangerous situations to find yourself in. Bears know this all too well, but may initially be drawn close by the irresistible smell of rotting meat. You will sometimes see a bear walk past the bridge, and upon recognizing the cache and Bear 814, they turn and move away quickly. Bear 814 has become somewhat notorious at Brooks Camp, beginning with the killing of Bear 435’s (Holly) spring cub in 2009. Now in his prime of 15 or 16 years old, he has become more dominant at Brooks Falls in July, often lurking downstream from the falls and then stealing fish from the other bears. While his behavior earns him scorn from most visitors and bearcam viewers, this form of dominance can be quite successful over time. His reputation among bears enables him to fish where he wants, and frequently results in his mating with numerous female bears in June and July. However, it is a fine line that he walks: too much aggression may ultimately lead to more fights, with possible life threatening injuries, especially as he ages and younger bears challenge his dominance. On a related note: last week it is believed that Bear 814 killed and ate a subadult bear about a half mile from the Lower River area. The cache-stealing and cannibalism we have just witnessed probably happens more than we know. Regardless, this late season feast virtually guarantees Bear 814’s winter survival and return to Brooks Camp in 2013. Bear 814 continues to guard his cache on Wednesday and Thursday, even as its size diminishes. In time, there will not be enough caloric value to what remains in the cache, and he will move on. Until then, we are privileged to have this safe, front row seat at one of nature’s little-seen events. *Bear 469 has no nickname, and only frequents Brooks River late in the fall, after most humans have left. He is not habituated to the presence of people and is more active early in the morning. The light patch that appears to be a scar on the bearcam is actually a diamond-shaped patch of mocha colored fur." '''2012.10.12: 814 Lurch fishing in the lower river in close proximity to his 2012 cache video by MsDebbiB: 2012.10.18 09:10: 'Another bear capitalzing on the remains of 814's cache, video by eaglewhisperer18: '2013: 'October 2013:' 2013.10.25 10:xx: 814 Lurch near fish ladder Part 1 video by kindaround1: 814 Lurch near fish ladder Part 2 video by kindaround1: '2014:' 'July 2014:' 2014.07.04: 'Life and Death on the Bear Cam by John Herman at The AWL. John Herman interviews Ranger Roy and learns some details about 814 Lurch and the October 2012 cache. 'September 2014: 2014.09.10: 814 Lurch displaces 480 Otis video by JoeBear: October 2014: 2014.10.25: '814 Lurch video by Explore: '2015: 'July 2015:' 2015.07.12: 814 Lurch attmepts to steal a fish from another bear. The other bear goes over the falls while working to protect their catch. The fish is lost in the descent down the falls. Video by JoeBear: 2015.07.29: 814 Lurch Part 1 video by Tzz Oha: 814 Part 2 video by Tzz Oha: Ranger Mike's 07/30/2015 comment about 814's behavior on 07/29/2015: LURCH 814 PIC 2015.07.29 RMIKE INFO - I ALSO SAW & TOOK PICS ON CAM.JPG|Ranger Mike's 07/30/2015 comment re: 814's 07/29/2015 behavior '2016:' 'June 2016:' 2016.06.23: 814 Lurch returns to the Brooks River for the 2016 season video by Erum Chad (Erie): 2016.06.24 14:5x: 856 displaces 814 Lurch video by Mickey Williams: 2016.06.24 18:xx - 19:xx: '''83 Wayne Brother in far pool and 814 Lurch in the office video by Ratna: '''2016.06.25 Early Morning: 814 Lurch at sunrise snapshot by Brian W: 2016.06.25 BF 814 LURCH SUNRISE BRIAN W.jpg|814 Lurch at sunrise snapshot by Brian W 2016.06.27 ''' '''14:05: 814 Lurch charges 89 Backpack video by Mickey Williams: 814 Lurch charges 410 Four-ton video by Ratna: 17:36: '''814 Lurch video by Mickey Williams: '''2016.06.28 17:30: 814 Lurch resting on island downriver of Brooks Falls video by Mickey Williams: 17:47: '''747 displaces 814 Lurch from the island downriver of Brooks Falls video by Mickey Williams: '''2016.06.29 Approx 23:00: 814 Lurch video by Arlene Beech: 2016.06.30: 814 Lurch video by Cheryl Burnside: 'July 2016:' 2016.07.02 06:35: '814 Lurch successfully fishing video by Pleiadians Bear: '''2016.07.02: ' 814 Lurch and the angler video by Ratna: '''2016.07.04 14:23: 480 Otis vacates the office for 814 Lurch video by Mickey Williams: 2016.07.04: '''814 Lurch naps along the far shore of the Brooks River video by Brenda D: '''2016.07.06: 18:00: '''814 Lurch video by Mickey Williams: '''23:45: 775 Lefty and 814 Lurch video by LuvBears: 814 Lurch video by Ratna: 814 Lurch steals a fish from 480 Otis video by Brenda D: 2016.07.07: 747 and 814 Lurch do the dance of dominance video by Brenda D 814 Lurch was last observed in July 2016. 'Known Courting & Mating:' Add here 'Known Relatives:' None known at this time 'Darting Attempts:' Ranger Michael Saxton was not able to attempt darting 814 Lurch prior to 814 Lurch's remains being discovered in 2016. Category:Bear Book